Amendment to SSDC Act to Expand Funding Sources for Agency – Reps

The House of Representatives said on Wednesday that the ongoing amendment process to the law on the establishment of the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) will expand funding sources for the agency.

The Chairman of the House Committee on SSDC, Julius Pondi, gave the explanation during a public hearing on the amendment bill in Abuja.

“In particular, the proposed amendment seeks to introduce additional sources of financing, including contributions from extractive industries, agricultural processing companies, allocations from the Ecological Fund and a share of value added tax revenues, among others,” he said.

It further said that the measures were designed “to place the Commission on a stronger and more sustainable financial footing”.

Speaking at the opening of the session, the Speaker of the Chamber, Abbas Tajudeen, said that “the objective is to provide the Commission with a funding structure comparable to that of other regional development commissions”.